Blackline Safety : G7 EXO Area Monitor Deployed to Ensure Residents’ Safety After Industrial Fire in France

At the heart of the industrial zone of Grand-Couronne, located in the Seine-Maritime department of Normandy, a large fire broke out on January 17, 2023 at a warehouse which was being used to store some 12,000 lithium batteries. The resulting cloud of smoke and multiple explosions could be seen and heard across a wide radius.

The fire started at around 16.30 local time and spread quickly, soon engulfing the adjoining hangar which contained some 70,000 tyres. Firefighters brought it under control by 23.30 that evening. However, during the night a new fire started at a third storage space on the same site, this time housing textiles and pallets, which was resolved by around 6 am the next morning. At the height of the disaster, 137 firefighters were involved, supported by 60 vehicles.

News sources have reported that there were no casualties, nor was there any immediate indication as to the cause of the fires.

Local residents expressed concerns about the impact of the fire's emissions on their health. These were allayed by firefighters who used G7 EXO portable area monitors from Blackline Safety to quickly take multiple air quality measurements and rule out toxicity. This ensured local schools could remain open and restrictions were unnecessary.

G7 EXO is the world's first direct-to-cloud area gas monitor that offers rapid deployment, configuration flexibility and versatile mounting systems for placement anywhere, and is the solution of choice for a growing number of first responders in the fire and hazmat sector.

A press release issued by the Préfet de la Seine-Maritime, stated that:

"From the beginning of the fire, different types and points of sampling were set up by the fire brigade in order to carry out air quality measurements, close to the fire, but also at the level of the first dwellings and in a more distant perimeter, including in areas which were not located under the smoke plume.

The results of these analyses carried out throughout the night by the air measurement network set up, confirm the absence of significant concentrations of substances in the air related to the fire. At this stage, no particular risk has been identified. Additional measurements and analyses are continuing.

As a result, the situation never involved evacuation, containment or even sheltering. No restrictions on the movement of people have been put in place and all activities will be able to take place … as usual."

The incident brought back sad memories for local people as Grand-Couronne is just ten kilometres away from a lubricant plant which suffered a serious fire and a series of explosions in September 2019, when 10,000 tons of chemicals ignited.

The French subsidiary of US chemical company Lubrizol was subsequently charged with failing to meet safety standards and causing pollution. The blaze at the facility produced a thick black cloud which persisted for several days, causing nausea, headaches, and vomiting among the local population. Firefighters managed to bring the fire under control after 24 hours, but the prevalent toxic black smoke and soot spread as far as Belgium and the Netherlands.

Schools and businesses were closed, and local authorities banned the harvesting of crops and sale of animal produce originating in the region in the days after the incident.

Read the complete French article here: https://www.francetvinfo.fr/france/normandie/seine-maritime/rouen/incendie-de-grand-couronne-les-riverains-inquiets-des-risques-pour-leur-sante_5608586.html